A Long Beach man who allegedly shot at police officers Sunday night was charged Wednesday with four felony counts, including attempted murder of a peace officer, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced this evening.
One officer was injured in the shooting and both he and the suspect were sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD).
Arraignment for Eric Arroyo, 31, was rescheduled from Wednesday to June 19 because he is still in the hospital due to injuries he sustained during the shootout, LBPD spokeswoman Megan Zabel said.
Arroyo was charged with two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer and two counts of assault with a firearm upon a peace officer, officials said.
The felony complaint includes a special allegation that the defendant personally and intentionally discharged a firearm, which caused great bodily injury, according to authorities.
LBPD Chief Robert Luna said a woman reported shots fired while Arroyo was nearby to dispatchers shortly after 9:00PM on Sunday, June 14, on the 3300 block of East Artesia Boulevard.
The call disconnected and the dispatcher called her back, learning he was allegedly still on scene with a gun.
When the first officer arrived a minute after the dispatch call, the caller flagged the officer down and screamed for help. She also pulled the patrol car door handle while hysterical, authorities said.
After learning the suspect had fired a gun within an apartment complex nearby, officers entered the complex to look for victims and evidence.
When they entered the complex, the suspect exited one of the apartment units and began shooting at an officer in the courtyard, said Luna.
Three officers returned fire at the suspect.
An officer and the suspect sustained gunshot injuries and were transported to local hospitals, as previously mentioned. A fellow officer took the injured officer to the hospital in his patrol car, Luna said.
Ballistic evidence found the bullet recovered from the injured officer came from a fellow officer firing at the suspect.
Evidence also showed the suspect fired rounds at two of the responding officers, and that the rounds that hit the wall behind the injured officer came from the suspect’s gun, according to an LBPD release.
Officials said the suspect then left the complex and dropped his weapon—which was later recovered.
The suspect also resisted officers who used an electronic control device to take him into custody. A second officer sustained minor injuries during that altercation.
Arroyo’s bail has been set at $3 million. If convicted as charged, Arroyo faces a possible maximum sentence of 80 years to life in state prison, officials said.